Snapchat Plans Sponsored Selfies

Snapchat earns money through regular ads, its Discover feature, and paid replays, which was recently introduced alongside a new, fun feature called “Lenses.” As it turns, the social network, which popularized the use of transient content, has bigger plans for the killer feature after all.

According to the Financial Times, Snapchat is launching a new advertising format called “Sponsored Lenses” that will presumably allow marketers and brands to take advantage of selfies. Sources familiar with Snapchat’s plans said that the new advertising scheme will launch on Halloween.

These “Sponsored Lenses” are very similar to ordinary Lenses, which allow users to add real-time effects and sounds to their ephemeral messages. But the only difference is that these Lenses are sponsored. Meaning, they are promoted or funded by a brand.

Hollywood studios, for instance, could be the first advertisers of the feature . But it will not be cheap. Sponsored Lenses can cost up to $750,000—a rate that only a few brands can afford. With that amount, brands can market their products and services to Snapchat’s entire user base for one “peak day” such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Black Friday.

Regular days or “off pick days” for “Sponsored Lenses” cost $450,000, sources added. Snapchat expects to raise $100 million in revenue from the new ad format. The social network’s investors include Yahoo, Alibaba, Coatue Management, and Kleiner Perkins.

The Author

Gene Ryan BrionesGene Ryan Briones (Google+) is a technology journalist with a wide experience in writing about the latest trends in the technology industry, ranging from mobile technology, gadgets and robots, as well as computer hardware and software.

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